Pet Care Trust calls for targeted enforcement
THE Government is continuing to favour excessive red tape over targeted enforcement with its latest report on the draft Animal Welfare Bill, the Pet Care Trust recently announced.
In its response to the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee report on the draft Animal Welfare Bill, the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs stuck to its plans calling for regular inspections with an obligatory veterinary presence, rather than basing inspections on a sensible risk assessment.
“As we’ve said ever since DEFRA first published the draft Animal Welfare Bill, this is completely unnecessary”, said Janet Nunn, Chief Executive of the Pet Care Trust. “Pet shops, kennels and catteries house healthy animals. Routine inspections are expensive and inconsistent in quality. A statutory vet inspection is pointless when many pet shops already have an excellent working relationship with their local vet”.
Instead of annual or 18-month licences, the Pet Care Trust supports enforcement by perpetual licence or registration. This registration would then be renewed whenever substantive changes occurred, for instance with a change of business ownership.
As is the case already, pet shop managers would be required to show competence in pet store management by either possessing or working towards an appropriate qualification. The system would also be backed up by targeted enforcement, with inspections by local authorities at a frequency dictated by the nature of the business and their track record in working to high standards of animal welfare.
“Enforcement officers should be allowed to vary the frequency of their visits in light of their own risk assessment of the individual businesses,” said Ms Nunn. “Our inspection regimes must be modernised and brought into the 21st century. Sadly, this latest report shows that DEFRA still haven’t got the message”.
Would you like to work for FAB?
We are expanding our work in the cattery field. You are probably aware of the increase in the number of FAB Listed catteries throughout the UK, and they are always eager to improve their standards to meet our criteria. We have just launched our second annual competition to find the Cattery of the Year, and late last year published our Good Cattery Guide 2005.
We currently have one (overworked!) and very experienced cattery expert who needs some help. Gill not only handles all the administration for the cattery side of FAB work, she also co-ordinates the FAB Cattery Inspectors, inspects catteries herself and answers dozens of phone calls each day from prospective and existing cattery proprietors. These queries range from how to dispose of used cat litter to needing support for a planning application.
If you have a particular interest in improving standards in boarding catteries, we’d like to hear from you. You may have run your own cattery in the past or regularly worked in one, but are now looking for a different challenge. The work will be varied and involve a lot of contact with cattery owners, both face-to-face and on the phone.
We are offering a salary of £15,000 per annum for a full-time post (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) but would consider making the position part-time on a pro-rata salary. You would be based in the FAB office in Tisbury on the Wiltshire/Dorset borders.
If you would like to know more, please contact Claire Bessant, Chief Executive, on 01747 871872.
Cats Protection’s mobile clinic - making cat neutering easy
IN A bid to reduce the number of unwanted cats and kittens, Cats Protection has lunched a new scheme that will make cat neutering easy and convenient, whilst also raising awareness of the need for more neutering.
A free-of-charge mobile clinic is being supported by Pfizer Animal Health, which has supplied three months worth of products to help the clinic on its travels. Together, they are able to de-flea, de-worm and neuter cats belonging to owners on limited incomes.
“If the owners of unneutered cats won’t come to us, we’ll go to them!” said Lisa Morrow, Cats Protection Head of Veterinary Services. “Each year the charity neuters around 100,000 cats but, because felines are prolific breeders, it is simply not enough. Neutering is the most effective way of reducing the number of unwanted cats and kittens and the new mobile clinic will make the procedure more convenient for owners to arrange”.
Neutering stops unwanted kittens. It also guards against disease, as fighting cats are more at risk of life threatening diseases that can be transmitted through biting and saliva. And, it helps keep the family together, as the cat is less likely to roam.
Neutered cats are less likely to wander off for days or protect their territory, making them safer pets.
